They have created the most daring and environmentally generous design ever devised, a challenge that Saudi Arabia is willing to execute.
Imagination is the most incredible tool that humanity has, one that pushes us beyond our limits again, again, and again. It is true that sometimes we get out of hand but that helps us with change, versatility, and to foresee future situations. Today we present to you the latest and most daring urban figuration.
The effect incorrectly called «overpopulation», together with the need to break barriers and the erosion of ideas to prevent the effects of Climate Change, have led some professionals to design what is, until now, humanity’s most important urban planning commitment: The Line. As its name indicates, it is nothing more than that, a line, a 170 kilometer line.
The Line, a city made online
The Neom company is in charge of giving life to this project that aims to be the spearhead of urban planning of the future. It is a city for nine million people, 170 kilometers long, 500 meters high, 200 meters wide and facades completely covered in mirrors. Are you surprised? Well wait, there’s still more.
It will be built in the Red Sea, in a coastal area of Saudi Arabia, and as you can imagine, we are talking about a skyscraper, since this entire enormous built extension will be connected from start to finish. In fact, the mega structure is simplified into two enormous walls that trap an interior free space, similar to a mega patio, with abundant vegetation, transit and recreation areas.
Two glass walls will mark the city limits
Of course, inside there will be residences of all types and conditions, commercial and leisure areas, parks and schools. Although, interestingly, you didn’t read that they have industries, so I imagine everything will be imported. Both “walls” will be connected at different heights and in various ways by bridges, most of them with green spaces. You can even see in the video a flowerpot that breaks the rules of gravity.
One of the most incredible things they promise is that in just 20 minutes you can visit one extreme and its opposite using an innovative transportation system. Another promise is that the city will be supplied only with renewable energy, being an alternative to traditional cities.
The Line is the future to take care of the environment
The intentions of the developer, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, are to get out of economic dependence on oil, building an unexpected place. A spear that, during its useful life, provides its users with rewarding experiences, while at the same time serving as care for the environment and the area in particular.
The Line is designed so that the needs of its citizens can be met with just a five-minute walk. This is achieved because everything is in just a footprint of 34 square kilometers, with buildings 500 meters high, which would become one of the tallest structures in the world, and the longest ever created by man.
The city will generate zero emissions into the atmosphere
Another direct consequence of this city is that it frees up all the outdoor spaces, letting a huge natural space develop by itself, having a more than positive effect on nature. Specifically, the protected area will be 26,500 square kilometers. Within the walls there will be no cars or private automobiles, all users will move by public transportation, thus avoiding massive pollution.
We are promised that this city will have zero carbon emissions both in construction, in which Neom is committed to seeking the most ecological materials, and during the use of the structures. Although Neom promises that carbon emissions during construction will be offset.
The Line is the city of the future
Surely, like me, you were worried about the number of birds that can collide with such walls of mirrors. Tarek Qaddumi, executive director of Neom, responds to this concern by saying that the migratory routes of the different types of birds in the area are being studied, and that methods that avoid the collision of these animals, such as the use of fried glass, will always be applied. .
It is also legitimate to think that this project is just a chimera, but nothing could be further from the truth. In April 2022, piloting work on the first phase of The Line began, and it is expected that the initial phase will be operational by 2030. That is, the first users will arrive.
The Line is scheduled to receive inhabitants in 2030
To make it more attractive, promoters indicate that 40% of the world’s population will be able to reach The Line in a six-hour flight, and that it is on a global trade route. In any case, we can put all the objections we want, but the fact is that technically The Line can be executed and, de facto, its construction has already begun.
Proof of this is that Neom has released a video that is circulating online, in which the same constructive game is played in a place as emblematic as New York. Would you live in a linear New York? Do you think it can be a comfortable city? In short, the stakes are high.